EU complaint against Apple Pay fueled by PayPal

AppleInsider

Complaints made by PayPal may have been a key reason the EU launched a statement of objections against Apple on Monday.

Image Credit: Sagar Salva

The complaint claimed that Apple restricts competition in the mobile-wallets market, and that it is preventing developers from using the technology was done to benefit its own Apple Pay solution.

Now, Bloomberg has learned that one of the voices that helped spur the EU antitrust complaint against Apple was rival payment platform PayPal.

PayPal provides tap-to-pay options on Android phones and hopes to implement the same feature on iPhone one day.

For a significant period of time Apple restricted the use of its near-field communications (NFC) chip to Apple Pay. The Cupertino tech giant maintains that this ensures that Apple Pay is significantly more secure than third-party payment apps on Android.

Apple only recently opened the NFC chip to app developers to use with Apple's Tap to Pay feature. The upcoming feature will allow users to accept payments by using the iPhone as a point-of-service. However, as Bloomberg notes, Apple does not allow rival services to utilize the chip for making payments from the iPhone.

This EU investigation started formally in June 2020, but the regulator first received complaints from rivals to Apple Pay in 2019. In October 2019, it reached out to online retailers to consult over the impact of Apple and its payment system.

It was initially reported that the EU would draft a statement of objections in October of 2021, shortly after Tim Cook met with Margrethe Vestager, EU competition chief, in New York.

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Xed

I'm not sure what's worse, PayPal or the EU. Both usually suck IMO.

Madbum

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars?

jungmark

What’s iPhone’s market share in the EU? 

JinTech

AppleInsider said:

Image Credit: Sagar Salva

This office looks identical to 1 Infinity Loop, the first building in Apple's old campus!

humbug1873

JinTech said:

AppleInsider said:

Image Credit: Sagar Salva

This office looks identical to 1 Infinity Loop, the first building in Apple's old campus!

I guess it was built by the same company at about the same time. When Infinite Loop was build Apple didn't have the money to spent 5 billion US$ on a designers folly. (At the time the whole company wasn't worth that much). If you drive around San Jose/Cupertino  you see quite a lot of similar looking office complexes.

humbug1873

Madbum said:

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars?

Sure BMW does not need to follow US rules when selling cars in the US, but poor Apple does in the EU. Just for an example of 'shape': the headlights of the US cars need to be shaped differently to follow US rules (The EU lights have to cover the right hand sight of the street a little bit, while in the US it's explicitly forward only). So who are you kidding?

maclin3

Would Android phones be required to provide Apple Pay option?
as for non Apple related political comments, that’s what Apple News is for. Don’t feed the trolls

mr lizard

Can someone who has an Android device and uses PayPal’s in-store NFC payment option explain exactly how it works on Android?

I’ve tried a web search and as best as I can tell PayPal integrates with the Google Pay wallet functionality. Isn’t that just creating a virtual card PAN and adding that to Google Pay as if it was a physical debit card?

I can’t figure out why PayPal can’t just create a virtual PAN and integrate with Apple Pay, just like every other bank or eMoney provider. 

Or are PayPal getting direct access to the NFC chip on Android and using their own wallet instead of Google Pay?

mr lizard

Madbum said:

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars? 

Last time I checked PayPal was an American company, and they’re the ones who have brought the complaint. 

It’s almost as if all companies, irrespective of where they are domiciled, use the tools available to them to further their business interests. I think that’s known as capitalism, which last time I checked was also in fashion in America. 

spheric

Why does PayPal hate American companies so much?

chelin

humbug1873 said:

JinTech said:

AppleInsider said:

Image Credit: Sagar Salva

This office looks identical to 1 Infinity Loop, the first building in Apple's old campus!

I guess it was built by the same company at about the same time. When Infinite Loop was build Apple didn't have the money to spent 5 billion US$ on a designers folly. (At the time the whole company wasn't worth that much). If you drive around San Jose/Cupertino  you see quite a lot of similar looking office complexes.

It is the Infinite loop building off DeAnza

Madbum

mr lizard said:

Madbum said:

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars? 

Last time I checked PayPal was an American company, and they’re the ones who have brought the complaint. 

It’s almost as if all companies, irrespective of where they are domiciled, use the tools available to them to further their business interests. I think that’s known as capitalism, which last time I checked was also in fashion in America. 

Making 2 American companies fight each other is what EU loves

nicholfd

mr lizard said:

Can someone who has an Android device and uses PayPal’s in-store NFC payment option explain exactly how it works on Android?

I’ve tried a web search and as best as I can tell PayPal integrates with the Google Pay wallet functionality. Isn’t that just creating a virtual card PAN and adding that to Google Pay as if it was a physical debit card?

I can’t figure out why PayPal can’t just create a virtual PAN and integrate with Apple Pay, just like every other bank or eMoney provider. 

Or are PayPal getting direct access to the NFC chip on Android and using their own wallet instead of Google Pay?

I'm not sure about Android/Paypal/wallet arrangements, but I use my PayPal Business Debit card in Apple's Wallet, all the time, for tap to pay purchases.  PayPal really has nothing to complain about here.  Anyone can get a PayPal debit card that draws directly from their PayPal account.  That card can be added to Apple's Wallet & used for PayPal purchases via NFC.

spheric

Madbum said:

mr lizard said:

Madbum said:

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars? 

Last time I checked PayPal was an American company, and they’re the ones who have brought the complaint. 

It’s almost as if all companies, irrespective of where they are domiciled, use the tools available to them to further their business interests. I think that’s known as capitalism, which last time I checked was also in fashion in America. 

Making 2 American companies fight each other is what EU loves

   

In this case, it's one American company USING the EU to fight another. 

lkrupp

spheric said:

Why does PayPal hate American companies so much?

Elon Musk’s demon child!

equality72521

mr lizard said:

Madbum said:

I am again feeling why we are helping the EU when they are trying to Destroy American companies . Do you see us trying to regulate BMW for having the same shape steering wheel as our Ford cars? 

Last time I checked PayPal was an American company, and they’re the ones who have brought the complaint. 

It’s almost as if all companies, irrespective of where they are domiciled, use the tools available to them to further their business interests. I think that’s known as capitalism, which last time I checked was also in fashion in America. 

No, this is more like corporatism.